First solids and constipation issues...

Hello!

We've been doing BLW for about a month now, my LO is 7 months 1 week but I just came from the Dr. 'cause he is having trouble passing stool, it's been a week now and last time it took him 5 days to go. Before BLW he was exclusively BF and was having 3 to 4 stools a day!! so it is a big change, and the thing is that he is tasting food but not swallowing that much but Dr. said that he might be swallowing large pieces without chewing that much (I think he is right, I saw him once eat a large piece of chicken without much chewing) and that is giving him trouble to digest. We mostly give him fruits and vegetables and some yogurt so it is not that constipating, but at this stage I'm wondering if I should give puree food with more water in it like Dr. suggested... he still BFs a lot like he used to do before solids. I have tried water and prunes, any other advice? My DH is starting to think this whole BLW is silly and is making our LO sick Thanks!!

Re: First solids and constipation issues...

I would wait until you see the poop to call constipation. Even if you haven't experienced it up until this point it's actually very NORMAL for breastfed babies not to poop every day. And since I also did BLS exclusively I agree with your assessment that at 7 months your child is probably not swallowing much if ANYTHING! Stay away from bananas, and rice as they tend to be known constipators. And if you are truly concerns you can back off the solids some (like move to once a day) and only do P fruits. (Pears, Plums, Prunes) until you see some poop. But when the poop comes, if it's the color and consistency of peanut butter, that is NOT constipation. That is simply the sign that his sphincter muscles are maturing to the point where he can hold poop. If you get hard dark pellets of poop, THAT is true constipation.
And the truth is at the point that they start to swallow food MOST people see some constipation. Just because they now have to get used to regulating solids with the right amount of liquid to keep things moving. And for every human that is a little different and depends on the foods they eat. As rules of thumb as long as you are feeding only whole real foods and making sure your child is getting 5 servings of fruits and veggies throughout the day, and serve water with meals and continue to nurse you will find that place with out moving to purees. Allow your child to find his own way! He seems to be doing great!
I now have a 6 year old who is a great eater and has very regular bowel movements like clockwork once a day. Don't worry Mama! And we both know your doctor probably doesn't know much about BLS. Look and see if you find any huge pieces of anything in the poop!

Re: First solids and constipation issues...

Since when were purees a cure for constipation?

I call total BS on the "large pieces of food are hard to digest and cause constipation" because I have seen my kids swallow big chunks, and guess what? If they don't get chewed they just pop out more or less unchanged in the diaper- they don't form some sort of plug!

Re: First solids and constipation issues...

Thanks a lot you both for your input!! I will be thinking of the plug next time he eats chicken hehehe..
my little one actually pooped yesterday and like djs.mom said, it looked like peanut butter so I guess it's not constipation, he did have a lot of pain passing stool though, but I guess with the large amount he did it is normal to have some pain... I will continue with this whole BLS and try to avoid constipating foods and see how it goes, hopefully his little stomach is getting used to food by now... thanks a lot!

Re: First solids and constipation issues...

Breastmilk is constipating? The doc is probably mixing up breastmilk with cow's milk or formula, both of which can cause constipation.

Of he continues to have trouble passing stool, maybe back way off on solids? He's young enough that all he really needs is your milk. I'd also watch the poop very carefully. When a kid is constipated, it's common to see him pass a small amount of relatively dry, hard poop, and to have that be followed by a large volume of softer material. And keep a poop journal for a while- if your LO is going infrequently, it can be hard to remember if he last pooped 3 days ago or 5 days ago, 5 days or 7 days...